Electrically shielded cables, or cables comprising a cable screen or shield made of an electrically conductive material have several applications. The purpose of the screen may be to maintain the quality of the signal conducted through the shielded cable, or to screen the surroundings from electro-magnetic interference (EMI) caused by the signal conducted through the cable, or vice versa. Cables may also be provided with an armor, a metallic enclosure surrounding the cable. Even if the definition would be a bit forced, one might say that the screen or shield serves its function continuously, preventing EMI from travelling into or out of the cable while the armor serves it purpose of preventing sudden failure, since it mechanically prevents the cable from being damaged, or prevents a more severe failure, since it is often used to bond the cable with ground (earth potential).
In practice, and for the purpose of the present invention, the purpose is seldom so well-defined since the screen or shield will also prevent the cable from being damaged (which is the purpose of the armor), at least to some extent, and the armor will also prevent EMI from passing (which is the purpose of the screen or shield). This will be discussed in some more detail in the detailed description.
According to codes for electrical installation and several national and international standards, such shielded or armored cables may be grounded as they pass a structure or is terminated, e.g. for with the purposes of bonding the cable with the surroundings or to prevent radio frequency interference (RFI) from passing through a bulkhead. Examples of such standards include. IEC 62305-x, EN 50164, UL 514B and CSA22.2.
The disclosure of the present application mainly relates to applications where a bond to ground is required and/or potentially high currents have to be lead away, e.g. grounding in high-power applications, bonding and equipotential bonding and lightning protection. In general the present invention may be used in electrical installations where high current carrying capabilities are required. Examples of typical cables used are metal clad cables and TECK cables, and also wired armored cables (e.g. SWA cables) and wired braid cables (e.g. SWB cables) i.e. high-performance cables with a metal casing, which cables may be used in hazardous environments.
Two typical families of connectors for this type of cables are commonly available:                1) A low tech solution, wherein a regular cable connector is used and wherein the grounding function is provided by a grounding wire connected to the cable outside of the constraints of the connector.         This solution has benefits in that the performance is readily verifiable since the grounding location is exposed and accessible. Some drawbacks emanate from this advantage, i.e. from that both the grounding wire and the grounding location is exposed. The risk of intentional or unintentional damages increases, and if a failure occurs such that a current is lead through the grounding cable the exposed position or the grounding cable may pose a risk for secondary damage (damage to a nearby person or nearby equipment).        2) A connector in accordance with e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 5,059,747 or U.S.-RE-38 294 E, where a grounding element is forced towards the cable screen as a pair of gland nuts are forced towards each other, or by a similar function.         One advantage of this solution is that the grounding position is protected inside the connector. One drawback of this solution is that the connectors are not readily adjustable to cables of various dimensions. Installations using this type of connectors may also suffer from not being so area efficient. Each gland must be accessible such that torque may be applied for it to function properly.        
Further background art is reflected by EP-A-058 876 which discloses an apparatus for shielding electric and electromagnetic waves.
The present invention relates to a novel cable connector addressing the known drawbacks of prior art as well as providing further advantageous features which will be obvious from the following description.